Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Iowa Football lands former Buckeye & 4 Star Wide Receiver Kaleb Brown

Episode Date: May 6, 2023

Trent Condon returns with the big news of the day on the latest edition of the Locked on Hawkeyes Podcast.Kaleb Brown has made his commitment to the Iowa Hawkeyes after his first visit. Iowa needed help i the wide receiver room and got one of the best that entered the portal. What does it mean for the Hawkeyes offense and the wide receivers room.Plus a look at what are some realistic goals from Brown and the Hawkeye offense in 2023.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We got him. Caleb Brown is an Iowa Hawkeye. Maybe one of the most surprising moves in the transfer portal comes to the Iowa Hawkeyes. They got their wide receiver. Wide receiver one is in the building. What does it mean for this football team? We'll break it all down today on Locked on Hawkeyes. Our Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in once again, I'm Trent Condon and this is a Locked On Hawkeyes podcast.

Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. We're available wherever you get podcasts. You can also find us on YouTube. While you're there, make sure you hit that subscribe button. It helps us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. Well, what seemed like maybe a long shot just a few days ago has come to fruition. Iowa's picked up the commitment from Caleb Brown, a former four-star wide receiver in this wide receiver room that remained the biggest question for Iowa football going into 2023. Well, it has

taken a big step forward. We're going to break things down on that front. What does it mean for this Iowa offense and what are some realistic goals for Iowa football offensively coming into the season? We will get into all that here today on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Well, let's get into it and start with how this came to fruition. Just last weekend was when the news came down that Caleb Brown, a top 100 player nationally, coming out of high school from the Chicagoland area. He is going to enter the transfer portal. You know, I've seen some conversation out there at this point in time that Ohio State, it's no big deal, that this is a guy that they didn't want. He was going to be a

backup. And for all intents and purposes, that is absolute garbage. Caleb Brown was a guy that they had targeted very well. So for every day, as you know, I've talked about this a few times in the past. My brother-in-law is an Ohio State grad, a huge Buckeye fan. Him and my sister live in Cleveland. And I got to hear about the Buckeyes from him all the time. And of course, last year, it did not go very well. They did not provide a whole lot of ammunition for me on the Hawkeye side of things to come back at the brother-in-law.

But when I was talking to him last week, one of the things that he had mentioned is this is not a guy that they were happy to see leave. This is something that Brian Hartline worked very hard, the wide receiver coach at Ohio State, one of the best in the business and continuing to recruit at as high of a level that you can. He's beating Georgia and Alabama and everybody else in college football and continuing to build up that wide receiver room. But one of the things that he mentioned to me is this is not one of those losses that is kind of ho-hum. Now we see plenty of guys that enter the portal and it's left with, well, not that big of a deal. We'll be fine. And Ohio State ultimately is going to be fine. But Caleb Brown is somebody that even a year in, they absolutely wanted to be a part of

their wide receiver room. And they had big plans for what he was going to be. Yes, Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to be an absolute stud this year. And he's going to have probably 160 targets on the season. They're going to be going to him a ton. A lot of people said, well, this is a guy that only played four games last year. How big of a loss is it for the Buckeyes? Here's another part.

He only played four games because they wanted to maintain his redshirt status. They wanted him to continue to be a guy on their path that they are going to continue to build up. He is a player that is explosive, that can make plays. And he was the only of their true freshman wide receivers a year ago that actually played four games a season ago. So out of that group that came in last season, a very decorated wide receiver room, he was a guy that also was anticipated to be very, very good. We know about the Iowa perspective on this. We need wide receivers. I mean, there's no two ways about it. You go into a season with a lot of question marks that really that position more than any, this is a huge coup. And the way that this came to fruition, the way that Iowa was able to go out there, get him on the first visit. So another

thing that was relayed to me is Caleb Brown was a player that Iowa targeted very early in his high school career and built a really good relationship with him. And there was a time back during, before his junior campaign, Iowa thought they had a real shot of getting his services. Now this is before he blew up. And this is before the Michigans and the Notre Dames and the Ohio States and the Alabama and Floridas of the world came calling his way. That changed the perspective and you can get that. I mean, this is no sour grapes, you understand. And especially at a position like wide receiver. I understand the arguments of tight end or offensive line or defensive line where we can get a little bit frustrated when

those guys that you have such a good relationship with, when they start to look around and they start to take a look at those blue bloods a little bit more because of the relationship that you built and how I was good at some of those other positions, developing talent and ultimately sending them to the next level. We can have that same argument at the wide receiver position. And we certainly seen that throughout the years. Yeah, Mir Smith-Marset, he's still in the league. We saw Brandon Smith, he got his shot.

There's been plenty of guys that have had opportunities. But wide receiver, it's just a completely different conversation than seemingly any other position at the Iowa spot. Ricky Stanzi still bounced around for a long time. C.J. Beathard still in the league. I was had guys, Nate Stanley had a couple of years and had a cup of tea in the league. I was been able to put guys, at least given them a chance, even at the quarterback spot, wide receiver, it is completely different.

Iowa though, built that relationship, got the first visit. And another place we definitely got to give credit to is Cade McNamara. So when it was found out that they were going to get the first visit for Kayla Brown, that Iowa had got the right calls in there and talked to the right people, had, of course, had the relationship from the past, very quickly, we found out that this was going to be something that sets up pretty well for Iowa. They're going to get a visit. And that in its own right, I think you could make an argument that that was a surprise on its own. Now, Iowa, with the struggles that they've had offensively, in general, coupled with what we have seen on the other side,

and just offensively, it could be a difficult sell. But Iowa was able to see. But it was found out that they were going to make the visit, that they were going to get Caleb Brown on a visit. And the first visit, Cade McNamara said right away, let me be his host. So if you don't know much about recruiting, the host is the guy that shows him around, that takes him out, maybe takes him to a couple of parties or a couple of bars. Yeah, that's a part of it too, but also is also the one that is going to be in their ear.

You're going to be talking to him. You're going to be hanging out. And Cade McNamara took it on his shoulders right away. I want to be the guy. Not another wide receiver, not somebody else on the offense, not somebody maybe from the Chicagoland area like he is. No, that's not what it is. I'm going to be your quarterback.

And the job that Cade McNamara and this Iowa football staff did was selling him to be number one. You come in here, you are going to be our top receiver. There is no battling six, seven, eight guys like it is at Ohio State. You are number one. We're going to get into what is a realistic target now for this season. What are maybe a comp that makes sense? Look, Caleb Brown's not going to come in next year and catch 110 balls. No, that is not the way that this Iowa offense is built. They're going to be better, no doubt about it. But what is a realistic goal for Caleb Brown?

Huge coup for the Iowa staff, credit to them, and also a big credit to the Iowa Swarm. We'll talk about some realistic scenarios coming up for Caleb Brown and this Iowa offense as the optimism meter continues to go up in Hawkeye land. That's as we continue here on Locked on Hawkeyes. Looking for a delicious snack but don't want all the sugar and calories? Then you need the best tasting protein bar ever built. You got to try this.

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Thanks for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Every day or tomorrow on the show, we've got more about this Iowa football team. Basketball, is anything percolating there? And the women's basketball team, another blow. Another big name is off the board. What is happening with the Iowa basketball team? Every day or tomorrow, we've got you covered. Coming up tomorrow on that run.

Let's continue, though, with the big news, and that is Caleb Brown making his commitment every day. As you remember earlier in the week, we had a little bit about him. What's a realistic scenario? Was there any chance at all that he was going to be a guy that was going to make one visit, make his choice? And I was dead wrong. I said, no, this guy's going to be looking around. Oklahoma, they're looking for a number two receiver. They got a slew of them. That was one of the initial visits that looked like he was going to take Texas A&M. We'll go about the financial incentives there.

And back to the Iowa Swarm. So Hawkeye Swarm is the NIL collective. I talk about it a ton here. It is incredibly important for the lightblood of this football program, of basketball, both men's and women's. This is the new reality in college sports. I understand there are plenty of people out there that just don't like it, right? You just don't like that this is what it is, that this is what college athletics have worked into, that this is our new reality. But it is true. There's no coming back. We're not taking a step back from what it

once was to what it was back even five, 10 years ago. That is not what it's going to be. So in order for Iowa to compete, they need to have more and more people get themselves involved with Iowa Swarm. And you can do it for less than 20 bucks a month. We're not talking about a big ask. You buy tickets, you buy a sweatshirt. I mean, I got this sweatshirt here. I got this Hawkeye sweatshirt. You see it? YouTube people see it. If you're not, hey, hit us up on the YouTube side of things, you audio people. It's got the old flying herky.

I absolutely love it. It's a Nike sweatshirt. They cost $80, right? For basically the cost of a hoodie, you can help the Iowa Swarm get players like Caleb Brown. Without NIL, Ken McNamara is not coming to Iowa. Without NIL and what Iowa sells, there are plenty of things. Now, is Iowa at the top of the list or not? The NIL still needs more money and still be able to compete at the highest levels.

More needs to be done also on the basketball side, both women's and men's, to compete at the highest level. But Iowa's in good shape. Needs to be in better shape, but they're in good shape right now on the basketball side, both women's and men's, to compete at the highest level. But Iowa's in good shape. Needs to be in better shape, but they're in good shape right now on the football side of things. Without the NIL, without the Hawkeye swarm, this is not happening. Caleb Brown's not a Hawkeye, but they sold him first on the vision. You're going to come in, and hey, number one, you're going to be our number one.

This is a top 100 player nationally. Iowa has not had a wide receiver like this. Had some people in the comments section back earlier in the week talking about Willie Guy. I get Willie Guy. He was the number one player from one service. Remember this too. Now, there weren't a whole lot of recruiting services at the time, really, when he saw a lot of those lists.

And I think it was, maybe it was a super prep all-American team that had Willie Guy as the number one player in the country back in the late 80s. Coming out of Tennessee, he was a quarterback in high school. He had not played wide receiver. Then you couple it with he, I believe, was a Prop 48 guy. Somebody in the comments section can help me out if I'm wrong or on Twitter at Trent Condon. You can help me out if I was wrong there.

He did not play or practice, though, for his first two years on campus. So he's transitioning positions. He is not able to go out there. This is a completely different realm than what we're talking about Willie Guy. Now, Caleb Brown was a running back, kind of a versatility. He was a Swiss army knife at the high school level, was a running back, was a slot guy, and he's going to do a whole lot of different things. So the question becomes, how does he fit? Well, he's number one. Nico Raggini, he is what he is, right? Good guy. If he can stay healthy, stay away from those foot injuries, you know what you're getting. Not a guy that's going to blow the top off. He's going to make some tough catches. You hope the hands continue to improve, but he is obviously not a number one. Could Deontay Vines eventually

get there? We'll see. Liked what we saw late last season, but remember he was training forward last August camp and then he breaks his wrist and we don't see him for the first half of last year. Still steps that need to go forward. I think there's a chance for Vines to become a very good receiver. Jacob Bostic, I know they like him. He's got size. He's got a tall frame. He's got that outside X position, maybe a position that he can play in the future. We haven't seen it. He hasn't been healthy since he's been on campus. Seth Anderson, a guy making the transition himself, coming up from the 1AA level, from

the FCS level, cover from Charleston Southern. He's not real big, slight of frame. And also, of course, during the spring after he transferred in, he is also dealing with the soft tissue injury. So you have all that going. Caleb Brown is your number one. So what's a realistic goal? What's a good number that would make sense to go out there and get an opportunity for him to go there and look at numbers in terms of, first of all, catches?

So I look back, and I was trying to find a way. Look, the last three years, we cannot make a realistic comp of what this offense ultimately can be this year. Every day, as you know, anybody that's listening to this podcast knows that I am not a Brian Ferentz fan. Now, I don't know how to loan on that. Do I go a little bit too far sometimes? You can make that argument.

I would disagree with you, but I hear you. So going back, still with Brian as the offensive coordinator, and I took a look back at the 2018 team. So 2018, if you remember that season, Iowa starts off the year 3-0, beat Northern Illinois, Iowa State, and UNI. They got Wisconsin coming in, and they absolutely gagged that game away. They were the better team that year. There is still no doubt in my mind. They gagged it away, late touchdown for the fullback and they win it. It was 21-17 at the time, ends up being 28-17. Okay. That year then, later in the year, lose to Penn State, a winnable game at Beaver Stadium. They had them beat. That was a game Nate Stanley overshot on fourth and

one, a wide open TJ Hawkinson, who was going to run in for a touchdown. But that team that year, they went out there and they finished eight and four in the regular season. But what I'm really making the comp to here is what they were offensively. They averaged 375 yards per game, a huge step up from what we've seen obviously this season. Take a look at what Nate Stanley did that season. He completed just shy of 60% of his passes through for 2,852 yards, 26 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. I think those are numbers that are realistic to look at for Cade McNamara this year. If he can throw for just shy of 3,000 yards, I think that completion percentage is going to be higher than the 59%.

Look, Iowa hasn't had a quarterback that's completed 60% of their passes since Ricky Stanzi in his final season. Now, not the 2009 year. Remember, that was the 2010 team. Statistically, a lot better. Wins didn't show up. They lost a lot of close games. So there's the starting part. And for McNamara, 63%, 64%, 65% of his passes, that would be huge. 3,000 yards, maybe a tick under it. I think 2850 would be a good over-under. I think that would be a good number that makes sense.

26 touchdowns, maybe on the high end. But still, talk about two a game to get to 24. And I think that's realistic and cut down on those interceptions that he had this year. But you're asking about how does that pertain to Caleb Brown? So that season, great tight ends, no doubt about it. Tight end play was incredible. You had Noah Fant, 41 catches that year, seven touchdowns, 50 catches for Hockinson, also seven touchdowns. Good starting point with Eric Hall, a little cliche. All right, connect those dots. Well, the wide receiver room that season was led by Amir Smith-Marset.

32 catches, 432 yards, three touchdowns. I think Caleb Brown's going to go north of all those numbers. Over under, 40 catches. Over under, 500 yards. Over under, three and a half will make the touchdowns. And I think Caleb Brown, again, barring health, can beat all of those numbers. That's exciting. It's fun to be excited about Iowa football and the step forward I anticipate they're going to take we'll wrap things up here as we look forward here at this Iowa football team a big big news of what they are and what they still can be also taking a look at the weekend

ahead here on Lockdown Hawkeyes we're back with more in a moment. Trey Conner back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So we got the optimism meter up. It's huge to get Kayla Brown. That's exciting. There is no doubt. So we have all that happening and I completely get it. And I'm right there with you. I am so happy to be excited about an Iowa football team. Defensively, we know they're going to be elite. Are they going to be at the level they were a year ago? It's going to be incredibly difficult to match that or surpass what they were a year ago, but I think they have a huge opportunity to take another step of just what they are and what they can do. And a reason for that is because the offense needs to be competent.

So we've gone through. Quarterback, huge upgrade. Running back Caleb Johnson going into his junior year. You feel good about that. LaShawn Williams, a great backup. And I think they got something there with Jazzy on Patterson. That's a one, two, three punch that Iowa doesn't have very often that you feel really good about.

The one, two punch, obviously, the tight end position. With Eric All, Luke Lachey, you throw a strike in there. That's a really, really good about. The one-two punch, obviously, the tight end position with Eric Hall, Luke Lachey. You throw a strike in there, that's a really, really good combination. The upgrade of the wide receiver room. So what it's going to come down to this season is the offensive line. And you're going to hear me talking about this at tough.

It was so tough that Parker, De'Jon Parker coming in from Saginaw, that he was not able to go through spring. Had an injury early on, had to get the knee scoped up because he was the heir apparent at the right tackle position. So he had that front. Frustrate. At minimum, very, very frustrating that he was not able to get the reps.

We know about what they do offensively. We know about the zone blocking scheme, how it is so important for continuity up front. And that's what this summer is going to be about. is so important for continuity up front. And that's what this summer is going to be about. Can Iowa get that continuity up front? Just because of experience, they're going to be better. You got Mason Richman, who I think is trending his way to be very good. Is he on the path to a Brian Balaga, a Riley Reif, a first round draft pick? I don't think that, but I think third, fourth round, absolutely Mason Richman can be that.

Connor Colby has taken his lumps. There's still a lot of good football in front of him. Logan Jones stunk at times last year at the center position. But experience, when you bring back the experience, you get Rusty Feth in there transferring in from Miami of Ohio. You couple that with Parker. If he's ready to go, looks like he's going to be good to go by next month and ready for summer camp. Absolutely, positively. This offensive line needs to take a step forward,

but how good can they be? That remains the great question for this Iowa football team. Big weekend coming up on the baseball front. Ohio State comes to town for a three-game series. Will the Hawkeyes be able to at minimum, got to win this series? You have to get the win in this series. Can there be more? We will talk about that after we wrap things up. More on the football front. Anything else percolating in the transfer portal?

Of course, they're still looking for a quarterback. We'll get the latest on that. That's coming up next week here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks, as always, for making Locked On Hawkeyes your first listen every day. Greatly appreciate that. We also have Sirius XM in our date of the game. You can catch Iowa baseball all weekend long with that matchup against the Buckeyes.

That has you covered here with our new partnership with Sirius XM. Every day, we've got a whole lot coming up for you. Next week, football, basketball, baseball, softball, track, you name it. We got you covered here on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for linking Locked On Hawkeyes, your first listen. Every day, we'll talk to you again next week. Go Hawks.